Charles M. Schulz

Profession: Cartoonist

Nationality:

Biography: Charles Schultz is the author of "Peanuts" the much-loved cartoon series featuring the characters of Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy and Linus with his blanket.

From a young age Charles Schultz wanted to be a cartoonist. When he initially sold his cartoon "Li’l Folks" to United Feature Syndicate in 1950 its name was changed to "Peanuts", to avoid a claim on the title from the owner a 1930's strip called "Little Folks". Shultz himself never liked the name, and avoided using it conversation.

Peanuts grew in popularity, books were published and in 1965 it appeared on the cover of "Time" magazine. In the same year the first animated TV special was broadcast, winning Schulz his first Grammy award. An off-Broadway show also ran for four years, followed by a musical.

Over the decades "Peanuts" popularity continued, the NASA Apollo 10 mission used Snoopy in its safety program and an animated film appeared in 1969. At its height "Peanuts" appeared in 2,600 papers in 75 countries, in 21 languages. Schulz retired in 1999 not long before his death of cancer but his creation continues to live on and a new 3D computer animated movie was released in 2015.

Born: November 26, 1922
Birthplace: Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

Generation: Greatest Generation
Chinese Zodiac: Dog
Star Sign: Sagittarius

Died: February 12, 2000 (aged 77)
Cause of Death: Complications from colon cancer